dabchick

Everyday

1. A small water bird, also called the little grebe, which dives under water to catch small fish and insects and often swims with only its head showing. tree →
2. Old name used for some other small grebes. tree →

In the lessons

A river-bank bird: in The Wind in the Willows the river is busy with water birds, and a dabchick is one of the shy small divers the Rat would know. In nature lessons: grebes have lobed (not webbed) toes and build floating nests. It dives so quickly it seems to vanish.

Examples

• A dabchick bobbed up near the reeds and dived again. tree →
• The little grebe is often called a dabchick. tree →
• Dabchicks build floating nests of weed. tree →
• We watched a dabchick diving for tiny fish. tree →
• The dabchick vanished under the water in a flash. tree →
• Two dabchicks trilled loudly on the pond. tree →

Note

Countable. Old country name; birdwatchers today say «little grebe».